fur mites.

Question
my rat has fur mites i'm guessing, is what it looks like, and it's sick and it's suffering, and it's breaking my heart. what can i do? is there any way to help him?

Answer
Oh yes, mites are very easy to get rid of! Go to your local tack/feed store and buy ivermectrin paste. On the end of a toothpick, your finger, or a q-tip, get the equivilant of about a grain of rice, and wipe it on your ratties teeth so they're forced to lick it off. Give it a week to 10 days, redose with the same amount, and if you're not mite-free 10 days after that, do it again. I DO recommend you go to the vet and have a swab/scrape done to be sure its mites, but this treatment will kill any ectoparasite.

Be sure to clean your cage frequently and well. Freeze any bedding and food you have before use, to avoid mites that may have infested the bedding from reinfesting your rat.

Good luck!